Exchange Bank — Cloverdale 116 S Cloverdale Blvd • Cloverdale • 894-4900 • www.exchangebank.com
New face defines “community bank” by deed and definition
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eslie Palmieri has lived in Northern Sonoma County for five years, having relocated from Santa Barbara with her husband, a Healdsburg native. Her career prior to moving here centered on restaurant and bar management. After selling her businesses, Palmieri did not want to return to private business ownership so she answered an ad and became a teller at Exchange Bank. She was hired as a utility teller, a roving fill-in position that acquainted her with a half dozen north county branches. After a year, Palmieri began to climb the ladder, accepting a full-time teller position in Healdsburg, and eventually moving to new accounts, and then loans. She started as Branch Service Manager of the Cloverdale branch in mid-2014, shortly after which the local chamber of commerce held a mixer at the bank to welcome her to the community. From her new location, Palmieri helps banking customers with home equity loans, auto loans and more. She says the 18-branch community bank has a larger commercial lending portfolio than before. “A lot of people are not aware we are a full service institution, with all the products and services of a national bank, as well as consumer loans, home mortgages and commercial loans,” she says.
Left to right: tammy Omundson, trish LaPant, Blanca Cardenas, Cindy Price with Leslie Palmieri seated in front. “We’ve really revved up real estate lending. Some people like to know their loan is never going to be
sold, so we do in-house loans as well as brokering out”. Exchange Bank is a community bank in deed, as well as by definition. Palmieri points out that the bank supports Relay for Life, United Way and the Human Race, as well as branch-selected charities. Allowing time for employees to volunteer in the community further demonstrates the commitment. She says last year Exchange Bank donated $600,000 to community nonprofits. There is evidence of ongoing daily interactions with the community and its interests in the Cloverdale Exchange Bank lobby. Sports team photos adorn one wall. Student art and, most recently, a display of art from World War I in cooperation with the museum, has attracted the attention of bank patrons. “The community loves it and it is more personal and less corporate [feeling],” she said. It happens that the Cloverdale branch staff is all female. Palmieri is impressed with her experienced staff and with Cloverdale. She is excited to continue community banking traditions here that date back to 1890. “Mostly I want people to know we are here to provide services and when they support Exchange Bank they support an organization that supports their community.”
Exchange Bank — Healdsburg 1031 Vine Street • Healdsburg • 707-433-0400 • www.exchangebank.com
Community banking at its best
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he Healdsburg branch of the Exchange Bank is a hub of the community, and Branch Manager Patti Mannatt wants to do even more to keep this locally owned bank at the center of community life. Patti has been in banking for more than 30 years, with Bank of America and Exchange Bank, and was recently the Exchange Bank Branch Manager in Cloverdale, before assuming the same position in Healdsburg. “My background is in personal banking,” Patti explains. “For many years, I worked with high net worth clients in the wealth management department.” Patti is very customer service oriented. “Our clients have a variety of financial needs, and it’s important to make the bank work for them. The best part of my job is meeting people, learning about their needs and connecting them with the right products and services.” Exchange Bank is strongly committed to community service. The Healdsburg branch employees are
Pictured (l-r): Melody Maudlin, Diana Almaras, Sara Fraser, Liz Lebrett, Patti Mannatt, and Felicia Strope. not pictured: Stefanie randolph and ramiro rodriguez. involved with the Human Race, Relay for Life, and countless local charities and causes. Patti enjoys the unique combination
12 Women in Business • September 18, 2014
Exchange Bank offers of size and service. “We’re a big community bank, but we don't act like a big bank. We’re small enough to offer the personal
touch, but large enough to offer a lot of services.” Exchange Bank caters to business clients, with a sophisticated suite of services for large and small businesses, including SBA and agriculture loans, online banking, and credit card services. Families feel at home at the bank, with a variety of account plans, as well as loans and equity lines of credit. Exchange Bank founder Frank Doyle was a shrewd banker and a genuine visionary. A champion of the effort to build the Golden Gate Bridge and bring prosperity to the North Bay, he also understood the value of community and of education. He bequeathed a controlling interest in the bank to a perpetual trust that provides scholarships to young women and men who attend Santa Rosa Junior College. Since 1948, more than $76 million in Doyle Scholarships have been given to local students, one of the most remarkable planned gifts in the history of American community colleges.